


makoto

by ryarya (ayrom)



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25072645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayrom/pseuds/ryarya
Summary: Sho gets told about a new student in his class.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	makoto

Sho is rarely called to the headmaster’s office. It makes sense he's a little jittery as he enters the office, taking in all sleek wood and leather furniture.

“Sakurai-san, hello.” Kato-sensei smiles at him, gesturing for Sho to take a seat by his desk. Despite being younger than Sho, Kato-sensei had inherited the high school from his father rather than having the vice headmaster promoted. Always a go-getter and valued the school's students well.

“If it’s about any of my students, I'm very sorry in advance,” Sho says, lowering his head as he sits himself down. “I know Tanaka-kun often acts spoilt, but we're working on it. I promise he'll be better when graduates.”

Kato-sensei laughs, but shakes his head. “You seem to have gotten it wrong,” he says. “None of your students have done anything. This concerns your future students, however.”

“Huh?” Sho lifts his head, blinking in surprise. Was no one from his class really in trouble? He had prepared a lecture for them on the way here as well.

A hand slides an iPad across the desk. It's a file of next year’s school roster, divided into ones that had paid their tuition in advance and ones that were pending.

“As you already know, we let the same homeroom teacher follow a class through the three years, right?” Kato-sensei states, and Sho nods. He'd started here as an assistant in the teacher's office to a homeroom teacher that taught Mathematics specifically. “Since your class, 3-B, is graduating soon, you're going to be transferred back to teaching first years next school year.”

“That's understandable,” Sho says.

Kato-sensei flicks the screen, revealing the class roster for 1-A, all students who have paid their tuition in advance and had passed Sakae’s entrance exam. He gives Sho time to memorise the names thoroughly of all twenty-five of them.

“Sawamura Jirou, Oda Minori,” Sho says, and when Kato-sensei doesn't correct him for any misread kanji, he continues. “Sakamichi Ryuji, Hiroguchi Shunpei, Wakamatsu Ayane, Aiba Makoto—”

“Stop,” Kato-sensei interrupts, looking a little embarrassed he had interrupted Sho's concentration. Sho takes his focus off the list, and straightens his posture.

“The reason I called you here today was not to reveal your future students early,” Kato-sensei clears up, and Sho nods, understanding. “I summoned you here to talk about one specific future student of yours: Aiba Makoto. After I have explained the situation concerning the student, you are free to ask to be switched to another class roster if needed, although I hope not out of dislike.”

He taps Makoto’s name, loading in a student file. Aiba Makoto, male, born on January 25—birthday twins!—in Tokyo, graduating from a junior high school affiliated with Sakae, and was in the baseball club's first string as a starting catcher. Average grades, with the best subjects being English and Science; the worst being Japanese and Mathematics, but not low enough to be worrying.

What was wrong with Makoto then?

Sho shifts in his seat and clears his throat. “If there's a mistake here, Kato-sensei, I’m afraid I can't find it,” he says.

“Ah, don't worry. In terms of grades and school record, Makoto is absolutely fine. Zero reports of delinquency—to my knowledge—and only two days absent for an entire three school years, and it was due to a hospital stay.” Kato-sensei turns off the iPad, then crosses his fingers with his elbows propped on the desk. “What I'm about to share is going to stay with the faculty and the faculty only, and whomever Makoto-kun chooses to share it with. If you utter even a single word about this without the student's consent, it will be considered a breach of privacy from the teacher's part. Understand?”

Nervously, Sho nods. If the kid turns out to be a yakuza leader’s heir or something, he'd probably start crying on the spot out of fear.

Kato-sensei closes his eyes, sighing.

“Makoto-kun identifies as a transgender man and has had professionals say he has symptoms gender identity disorder,” Kato-sensei states clearly. “As he is a minor, however, it is hard for him to gain legal papers of diagnosis.” He doesn't allow a moment for Sho to speak, and continues.

“While his legal papers will say F on them, at Sakae and Sakae-affiliated schools, he is listed as M and has always been allowed to wear the boy's uniform. As I do not know of your opinion on such, I’d rather get over it quickly rather than cause unnecessary drama over Makoto-kun’s situation. Your answer is very important.”

While Sakae was not as prosperous or prestigious as many other schools, they were more accepting of those who were rejected from other schools. Sho had known that Sakae was seen as one of the friendliest schools in Tokyo, considering how strict the rules were when it came to things such as bullying and harassment. Sho had chosen Sakae specifically, even when he was offered to work at schools like Horikoshi, for the positive reviews about Sakae’s inclusivity, and how genuine they seemed about accepting others rather than the other schools who had done it to appear on the headlines.

Sho would never be able to understand Makoto’s struggles, but he could help him in any way possible.

“I have no problem with students and their gender—or sexual—identity, and I thought it had been clear when I was interviewed, Kato-sensei,” he says. The fact the school wasn’t as conservative as others was surprising at the time. “I will gladly accept Makoto-san as a student and assist him like any other student.”

Kato-sensei’s face breaks into a smile.

“I knew I could trust you, Sakurai-san. It seems like Ninomiya-san wasn't lying about your dedication to showing how education is very important, regardless of gender or sexuality.” He slips a folded piece of paper over the desk. “Makoto’s father, Aiba-san, asks of you to meet him before the next school year starts to discuss personal matters. His contact info is listed here.”

Sho nods once more, pocketing the paper. “I'll be sure to schedule a meeting with him. Is there anything else—students like Makoto-san perhaps, or anything else I should be aware of?”

“Always so diligent,” Kato-sensei says with a lilt in his voice, and it makes Sho smile as well. “There are several other transgender students in school, although they wish to keep it a secret and live as who they want to be, without having them been seen as what they were before.”

“I understand wholly,” Sho says, pursing his lips together. At least… at least Makoto had others who he could relate to.

“This isn't very important I suppose, but Aiba is a single father to Makoto. I think it'd come in handy before you popped something like, ‘What about your wife?’ during your meeting.”

He feels his face go red. “That will definitely save me some embarrassment, thank you,” Sho says, lowering his head. Leave it to Kato-sensei to plan farther than Sho always plans.

When Sho leaves the headmaster’s office to retreat back to the teacher's lounge, he's not surprised Nino—Sakae’s music teacher, baseball coach and Sho's neighbouring desk in the lounge—has a set a mug of hot chocolate (with tiny marshmallows!) at his desk.

“Did Fumiya get suspended?” Nino asks, nonchalant. He's using the school computer to play some sort of first person shooter once again, and Sho doesn't know how he never gets in trouble.

“I still don't know why you loathe Fumiya-kun so much,” Sho says, taking a long sip out of his hot chocolate. He's gotten used to the taste of packet hot chocolate over the winter, and now it was February, which meant he'd go back to carbonated beverages once again.

“He's a brat,” Nino says. His fingers mashes the Z and X button on the keyboard hard enough it makes Sho wince. “If he weren't such a good southpaw, I’d expel him myself.”

Ah, he'd forgotten Fumiya was part of the baseball club. He'd been offered a scholarship by Waseda, apparently, which did well for Sakae’s reputation. Perhaps Nino was self-projecting his envy.

Sho sets down the mug and pulls out the paper that had been handed to him earlier. “You're a bit unnecessarily cruel to my students.”

“They deserve it—oh, fuck this game. I'm never playing again. Anyways, your students are bastards. If I could, I’d set up a battle royale with all of them. Watch them all fight to the death.”

Ignoring Nino's flawless insults, Sho unfolds the paper gently until he finds handwriting.

Aiba Masaki — [masakidotcom@yahoo.co.jp](mailto:masakidotcom@yahoo.co.jp) & XXX-XXX-XXXX  
Aiba Makoto — [aiba.ma510@yahoo.co.jp](mailto:aiba.ma510@yahoo.co.jp) & XXX-XXX-XXXX  
Landline — XXX-XXX-XXXX, but please don't call from 12AM-6AM  
Note: Dad tends to misplace his phone a lot. Call me or our landline instead. It'll make our lives easier, I promise, 100% =)

Sho smiles. Maybe next year would be more fun than this year.


End file.
